We all know to think before posting on Facebook, but Australia’s
‘War on Terrier’ proves just how powerful the most innocent of posts can be.
Johnny Depp’s dogs, Pistol and Boo, made international
headlines last week when Australian Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce gave the
Yorkshire terriers until Saturday to leave Australia or face death. Depp and wife
Amber Heard had flown on a private jet with the dogs to Queensland, but made no
attempt to declare the pooches’ entry into the import law-heavy country.
 | ||||||
| Pistol and Boo at Happy Dogz. Photo: Gold Coast Bulletin |
In a public
statement last Thursday, Joyce showed little sympathy for the plight of
Pistol and Boo: “[Depp] has decided to bring into our nation two dogs
without actually getting the proper certification and the proper permits
required. Basically it looks like he snuck them in. We found out he snuck them
in because we saw them taken into a poodle groomer. Now, Mr. Depp has to either
take his dogs back to California or we’re going to have to euthanize them. He’s
now got about 50 hours left to remove the dogs.” Joyce continued to cite the
threat of disease and an unwillingness to bend the law for celebrities as
reasons for taking such extreme measures.
It should come as little surprise that Facebook played a
role in the Australian government finding these dogs. Pistol and Boo were
dropped off at Happy Dogz salon, dog groomer Lianne Kent posted a picture of an
article
featuring her with the dogs on Facebook, and the rest is history: enter Barnaby
Joyce, Kyle
Sandilands, John
Oliver, and, finally, a $400,000
rescue mission.
Our actions are increasingly traceable these days. No longer
can we make an off-color comment or sneak a dog or two into a country, because
there is always someone watching. As such, there is no excuse for ignoring the
realities of the modern era: we must be informed of the laws, know when we are
following or breaking them, and take what precautions we can to maintain and
protect our privacy.
No comments:
Post a Comment